huntaholic123
WKR
The morning of October 22nd had finally arrived. The time to travel west was upon us. Tom, Ryan and myself loaded up my Toyota Tundra and hit the road bright and early. Over 800 miles to our hotel destination was uneventful. We made some final pack adjustments after checking into our hotel for the night. A steak from the local bar was had as our final meal before heading into the backcountry.
Friday morning we were on the road before sunup with the mountains in our sights. We arrived at the trailhead around 9 am with ambitions of harvesting trophy elk. The hike to camp was easier than anticipated. We hiked just over 2 miles in before deciding on a location for camp. After picking a camp location we tackled pitching the tent and unloading our packs. Once camp was established our next task at hand was to collect water. The creek was less than 500 yards from our camp so we had an unlimited supply of water. Ryan and I went to work with our Katadyn water filter pumps. Tom and Ryan were able to filter 7 liters of water and I filled my 10 liter MSR bladder. As soon as all was organized and settled it was time to hike the steep hill to the top of the center ridge of our hunting area. The elevation rose over 600ft in a matter of a couple hundred yards. We soon realized that this hill was going to be a daily struggle. Shortly after arriving at our glassing area elk began to appear out of the dark timber. By the end of the night we had spotted over 60 elk and a handful of mule deer. The largest bull we were able to spot was estimated to score in the upper 200's. Our spirits were high and expectations were even higher.
Opening morning of the hunt arrived and we were ready for whatever was thrown our way. We hiked our steep hill and got into position to put glass on elk. Right at sunrise Ryan and Tom located a 250 class bull on a meadow to the west of our ridge. Moments after the bull made his exit of the meadow three spots of blaze orange appeared over the ridge. Some unfortunate hunters missed the bull by seconds. Once the sun was high in the sky and all activity had ceased it was time to start exploring further down the ridge line. As soon as we started moving the strong aroma of elk entered our noses. It was an overwhelming smell which we later discovered was a nearby wallow the elk frequented earlier in the season. The afternoon was spent in the sun airing out boots and eating peanuts and jerky. That evening we picked a spot along the meadows we had explored earlier in the day and set up for an evening hunt. Big horn sheep were moving above the tree line, the mule deer were out early, but the elk were no where to be found.
Sunday morning went a lot like the day prior minus one thing. No elk were out in the meadows. After talking out a game plan the consensus was to hike all the way up the center ridge. It was going to be a long day of hiking while gaining over 1500ft of elevation. The further we traveled up the ridge, the more meadows we discovered. There was sign showing elk had been frequenting these meadows. Once reaching the peak of the final ridge we stumbled across an abandoned bivy camp. After a couple quick pictures and taking in the sights of our hike it was time to get down to business. I sat on the farthest meadow from camp, while Tom and Ryan dropped into meadows back toward camp. The entire night I was on edge and ready for an elk to appear at any moment. Ten minutes before the end of legal shooting light a calf appeared out of the timber followed by five cows. I ranged them at 50 yards. I found myself torn on deciding if I should harvest one of these cows. This was the first opportunity I have had at taking an elk. After careful consideration I made the decision to hold off in hopes of punching my tag on a bull.
The following day turned out to be a gloomy and cold day. Nothing seemed to be moving throughout the morning. The three of us met up late morning and decided to stay the course and hunt the meadows along the center ridge. As the afternoon passed rain started to fall on the mountains. After breaking out the rain gear and attempting to stay dry we took our places on the meadows. As the sun was closing in on the western ridge the clouds parted and allowed for a wonderful sunset view. With the rain stopping the deer and elk were on there feet. Ryan had a fork horn bull come within 40 yards along with some cows. While watching the elk a wiley coyote made an appearance. The day came to an end with some more elk in range and hopes were still high.
The remainder of the trip carried on with the weather and elk sightings deteriorating. Winds reached upward of 50mph and rain continued to fall. Frustrations set in as the days passed without any elk. Unfortunately we left the mountains lighter than we entered but the experience and knowledge we gained is invaluable. As I look back on my recent trip, I can't help but start planning next years adventure.
Friday morning we were on the road before sunup with the mountains in our sights. We arrived at the trailhead around 9 am with ambitions of harvesting trophy elk. The hike to camp was easier than anticipated. We hiked just over 2 miles in before deciding on a location for camp. After picking a camp location we tackled pitching the tent and unloading our packs. Once camp was established our next task at hand was to collect water. The creek was less than 500 yards from our camp so we had an unlimited supply of water. Ryan and I went to work with our Katadyn water filter pumps. Tom and Ryan were able to filter 7 liters of water and I filled my 10 liter MSR bladder. As soon as all was organized and settled it was time to hike the steep hill to the top of the center ridge of our hunting area. The elevation rose over 600ft in a matter of a couple hundred yards. We soon realized that this hill was going to be a daily struggle. Shortly after arriving at our glassing area elk began to appear out of the dark timber. By the end of the night we had spotted over 60 elk and a handful of mule deer. The largest bull we were able to spot was estimated to score in the upper 200's. Our spirits were high and expectations were even higher.
Opening morning of the hunt arrived and we were ready for whatever was thrown our way. We hiked our steep hill and got into position to put glass on elk. Right at sunrise Ryan and Tom located a 250 class bull on a meadow to the west of our ridge. Moments after the bull made his exit of the meadow three spots of blaze orange appeared over the ridge. Some unfortunate hunters missed the bull by seconds. Once the sun was high in the sky and all activity had ceased it was time to start exploring further down the ridge line. As soon as we started moving the strong aroma of elk entered our noses. It was an overwhelming smell which we later discovered was a nearby wallow the elk frequented earlier in the season. The afternoon was spent in the sun airing out boots and eating peanuts and jerky. That evening we picked a spot along the meadows we had explored earlier in the day and set up for an evening hunt. Big horn sheep were moving above the tree line, the mule deer were out early, but the elk were no where to be found.
Sunday morning went a lot like the day prior minus one thing. No elk were out in the meadows. After talking out a game plan the consensus was to hike all the way up the center ridge. It was going to be a long day of hiking while gaining over 1500ft of elevation. The further we traveled up the ridge, the more meadows we discovered. There was sign showing elk had been frequenting these meadows. Once reaching the peak of the final ridge we stumbled across an abandoned bivy camp. After a couple quick pictures and taking in the sights of our hike it was time to get down to business. I sat on the farthest meadow from camp, while Tom and Ryan dropped into meadows back toward camp. The entire night I was on edge and ready for an elk to appear at any moment. Ten minutes before the end of legal shooting light a calf appeared out of the timber followed by five cows. I ranged them at 50 yards. I found myself torn on deciding if I should harvest one of these cows. This was the first opportunity I have had at taking an elk. After careful consideration I made the decision to hold off in hopes of punching my tag on a bull.
The following day turned out to be a gloomy and cold day. Nothing seemed to be moving throughout the morning. The three of us met up late morning and decided to stay the course and hunt the meadows along the center ridge. As the afternoon passed rain started to fall on the mountains. After breaking out the rain gear and attempting to stay dry we took our places on the meadows. As the sun was closing in on the western ridge the clouds parted and allowed for a wonderful sunset view. With the rain stopping the deer and elk were on there feet. Ryan had a fork horn bull come within 40 yards along with some cows. While watching the elk a wiley coyote made an appearance. The day came to an end with some more elk in range and hopes were still high.
The remainder of the trip carried on with the weather and elk sightings deteriorating. Winds reached upward of 50mph and rain continued to fall. Frustrations set in as the days passed without any elk. Unfortunately we left the mountains lighter than we entered but the experience and knowledge we gained is invaluable. As I look back on my recent trip, I can't help but start planning next years adventure.
